Rooted in Tomorrow: Our Waste Reduction Program
Okay, okay, garbage might not sound like the most exciting topic for a blog post, but hear us out: it’s a serious and important business round here and forms a huge part of our commitment to feeding our community today, tomorrow and for generations to come. We all know that the less waste we send to landfill, the better Mother Nature can do her thing, so stick with us and we’ll tell you more…
2,180 Mature Trees Saved!
Our complex waste reduction and recycling system ensures that just 2% (yes, you read that right!) of our produce goes to compost. Our popular Ripe + Ready program forms a big part of this, as well as our ongoing partnership with the lovely people at the Rainbow Kitchen. You can read more about that here. Our waste reduction system also includes recycling for all those behind-the-scenes products that our stores couldn’t function without, including metal, carboard, plastics and more.
We’ll let the stats do the talking. Our waste reduction system meant that, in 2024, across both store locations:
2,180 mature trees were saved
17,998 bathtubs of water were saved
23 households worth of energy saved
544 cubic yards of waste diverted from landfill
Sometimes it’s What’s on the Outside That Counts…
We take pride – and joy! – in implementing the latest sustainable packaging material wherever possible. It’s one of many things we love to geek out over, and it’s an approach that spans across every aspect of our stores. You’ll find compostable grab + go cups and cutlery in The Coffee Project, compostable packaging for our deli sandwiches and salads, and cornstarch trays in our Produce Department.
Sustainability is our Bag!
We were using oxo-degredable bags before it was cool (or in other words, before the plastic ban came into effect). Now we offer paper shopping bags, but even better than that is our iconic jute tote that you can use again and again and again. We love to use ours for beach trips, for the gym and of course for groceries…you name it, the jute tote can do it! And when it does finally reach the end of its life, our jute totes are compostable too.
We have gently used produce boxes if you’d prefer to use these to get your bounty home safely, and we also offer these to our farmer friends to help them transport their fruit + veggies from A to B.
We’re not just talking trash when it comes to sustainability, and we have been committed to reducing waste since ’08.